Singapore's GIC and Macquarie invest in Australian student dorm developer

January 29, 2014 - 1:08:04 pm

SINGAPORE: Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and Australia's Macquarie Capital said Wednesday they have formed a joint venture that bought a majority stake in an Australian student accommodation group.

The investment into Iglu is the largest transaction of its kind in the Australian student accommodation sector, GIC and Macquarie said in a statement.

The statement, however, did not give the value of the investment.

Iglu, a specialist developer of purpose built off-campus student accommodation, currently has three properties in Brisbane and Sydney offering 900 beds.

GIC and Macquarie Capital said they plan to build additional student accommodation near schools and public transport facilities in cities where there is a shortage.

Australia has the third highest number of international students in the world behind Britain and the United States, according to information on its main government website, which also said that the country has seven of the top 100 universities globally.

GIC, previously known as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, manages more than $100 billion of Singapore's foreign reserves.

Among its latest investments, GIC in December bought a 50 percent stake in a major London office complex which press reports said was worth around 1.7 billion pounds or $2.8 billion.

In January, GIC partnered with a group of investors to buy $1.3 billion worth of Manhattan office space from Time Warner.

GIC is one of two Singapore sovereign wealth funds, the other one being Temasek Holdings. (AFP)